1918 United States Senate election in South Carolina

none March 2026 September 2023 October 2022 1918 Democratic Senate primary in South Carolina South Carolina presidential no 1913 United States Senate election in South Carolina 1913 1924 United States Senate election in South Carolina 1924 August 27, 1918 x150px Nathaniel B. Dial.jpg x150px Nathaniel Dial Democratic Party (United States) 65,064 58.70% Coleman L Blease (cropped).jpg x150px Cole Blease Democratic Party (United States) 40,456 36.50% 180px United States Senator Christie Benet Democratic Party (United States) Nathaniel B. Dial Democratic Party (United States) The 1918 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on Tuesday, November 5, simultaneously with the special senate election to elect the United States Senator for a full six-year term from South Carolina. Nathaniel B. Dial won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election. Democratic primary Candidates Coleman Livingston Blease, former governor of South Carolina Nathaniel B. Dial, former mayor of Laurens and candidate for Senate in 1912 James F. Rice Benjamin Tillman, incumbent senator since 1895 (died July 3) Campaign The primary election in 1918 for Senate was shaping up to be a contentious affair between Ben Tillman and Cole Blease, two of the state's most notorious demagogues. Blease had performed surprisingly well in the 1916 gubernatorial election where he had almost knocked off incumbent Governor Richard Irvine Manning III. The death of Tillman in July ended all prospects of an epic battle and the race became a contest between Blease and Nathaniel B. Dial. The South Carolina Democratic Party held the primary on August 27 and Dial garnered over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff election. Blease suffered the worst loss of his political career mainly because of his vitriolic opposition to World War I which made him appear as a traitor. There was no opposition to the Democratic candidate in the general election so Dial was elected to a six-year term in the Senate. Results Democratic PrimaryCandidateVotes% Nathaniel B. Dial 65,064 58.7 Coleman Livingston Blease 40,456 36.5 James F. Rice 5,317 4.8 General election results South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1918 Democratic Party (United States) Nathaniel B. Dial 25,792 100.0 0.0 25,792 100.0 0.0 25,792 |- | Democratic Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Democratic hold |- See also List of United States senators from South Carolina 1918 United States Senate elections 1918 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina 1918 South Carolina gubernatorial election References Jordan Frank E The Primary State: A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962 64–67 "Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina. Part II." Reports of State Officers Boards and Committees to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume II. Columbia, SC: 1919, p. 43. 1918 South Carolina Category:1918 South Carolina elections 1918 United States Senate election